Hearing Hongqi's words, Meng Fan's expression instantly turned grave.
Because he knew that Hongqi had no reason to deliberately deceive him about this; it had to be true!
"This brat looks quiet and honest, but I never expected him to be such a dark and terrifying person," Meng Fan muttered with a frown.
If this Dugu Ming had provoked him openly, saying he was unworthy of a Spiritual Sword or something similar, Meng Fan might not have taken it to heart.
Yet the other person had pretended not to care, clearly saying nothing at all while secretly harboring murderous intent toward him.
It proved that such a person was a deeply sinister schemer, the kind who would stab you in the back when you least expected it!
"During this time, you had better reduce your outings, especially to remote places devoid of people. Otherwise, if he really targets you, he might commit murder to seize your sword!" Hongqi's voice resounded in Meng Fan's mind.
From Hongqi's perspective, Meng Fan was still far too weak. Even with her cooperating with him, it would be extremely difficult for him to match a True Martial Realm cultivator.
"Rest assured, how could I possibly go to remote places?" Meng Fan replied aloud.
He did not dispute Hongqi; although Meng Fan was not afraid of Dugu Ming, there was no need to put up a stubborn front at a time like this.
Admittedly, Dugu Ming was an inner sect disciple in the True Martial Realm.
However, Meng Fan possessed the trump card of the Taishang Emotion-Severing Sword Intent seed. When it came down to a real fight, it was hard to say who would live and who would die!
No, to be precise, the high probability was that Dugu Ming would die!
Although the Taishang Emotion-Severing Sword Intent seed was a one-time consumable item, once erupted, its power was equivalent to a complete Sword Intent.
Using this thing to kill a True Martial Realm cultivator was somewhat like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!
"Still, couldn't you conceal yourself a bit better? Next time someone appears, make sure you don't leak any Spiritual Sword aura," Meng Fan said to Hongqi.
A Spiritual Sword possessed a spirit. If it deliberately concealed its aura, ordinary people would truly be unable to tell it was a Spiritual Sword.
Naturally, major figures who had condensed a Sword Soul Nascent Spirit could not be described as ordinary people.
"Alright, I'll pay attention from now on," Hongqi said with utmost cooperation.
A moment later, Senior Brother Luo returned.
Meng Fan did not mention the matter regarding Dugu Ming; he could not burden Senior Brother Luo with a worry and a mere suspicion.
Even if he spoke of it, Senior Brother Luo could not help him with anything, and it would only make him look cowardly and afraid of death.
At night, Meng Fan practiced in silence.
With the blessing of Qi Gathering Pills and Body Refining Pills, combined with the assistance of the Origin of the Sword, Meng Fan's cultivation speed was practically as fast as riding a rocket.
Through Hongqi, Meng Fan also learned the true name of the sword essence; this thing should not be called sword essence at all, but rather the [Origin of the Sword].
In the second half of the night, the aura on Meng Fan's body suddenly surged by a notch.
2nd Layer of Qi Refinement!
Through these days of bitter cultivation, he had finally broken through to the realm of the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement.
"Congratulations on reaching the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement," Hongqi's phantom drifted out from the Hongqi Sword and offered her congratulations to Meng Fan.
Meng Fan smiled and said, "It's merely the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement, not worth mentioning."
Hongqi, however, wore a look of exclamation and wonder. "Although it's only the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement, every day you absorb the Origin of the Sword from sword vessels and use this stuff to augment your cultivation, making your speed almost comparable to a top-tier Spiritual Root. You're simply a freak!"
After a moment of thought, she continued, "If one day you truly cultivate into a Xiantian Sword Body and continue to absorb the Origin of the Sword without interruption, wouldn't that be comparable to a heavenly-grade Spiritual Root?"
A heavenly-grade Spiritual Root was already the ceiling of this world.
As for a divine-grade Spiritual Root, that was a legendary existence that only existed in theory.
No one had ever possessed a true divine-grade Spiritual Root, nor were there any clear historical records of such a figure!
"I truly did not misjudge my man. Following you gives me hope for revenge."
Hongqi's face was filled with excitement and thrill; she was even happier than Meng Fan about his breakthrough.
With a flushed face, she drifted in front of Meng Fan and said with a beaming smile, "Master, to celebrate your breakthrough, how about this servant warms your bed for you?"
Chapter 25: The Sect Grand Competition, An Opportunity to Observe Swords.
Meng Fan immediately rolled his eyes.
Warm your bed? What kind of bed does a mere spiritual body warm?
You just want to drain my vital yang essence, don't you?
"Hurry back into your sword," Meng Fan said ungraciously.
"Am I not pretty?" Hongqi had already drifted right up to Meng Fan. Her small face was only an inch away from his, practically cheek to cheek.
Without a doubt, this was pure teasing.
Meng Fan simply closed his eyes and continued cultivating, out of sight and out of mind.
"Such a boring fellow!" Hongqi muttered, then transformed into a streak of red light and darted back into the Hongqi Sword.
Soon, dawn broke.
Meng Fan walked out of his room, washed up, and began wiping the long swords.
After wiping forty long swords, only one of them contained baleful Qi.
Once Meng Fan refined the baleful Qi, he learned a sword technique from the memories within the sword's baleful aura.
*Lingyun Sword Technique*.
A utterly mediocre sword technique.
In fact, Meng Fan had previously seen this sword technique when observing swords at the Sword Comprehension Hall.
Although Meng Fan cared little for this sword technique, it still served to round out his Myriad Swords Return to Sect.
"Little Meng, I'm not going out today. If you want to go to the Sword Comprehension Hall, just go ahead."
As noon approached, Senior Brother Luo finally woke up at his usual lazy hour.
He had gone out to buy plenty of wine yesterday, enough to last him for several days.
Hearing this, Meng Fan did not stand on ceremony. After letting Senior Brother Luo know, he left the Sword Pavilion.
In any case, he had already finished wiping his swords for the day, and staying in the Sword Pavilion served no purpose.
Watching Meng Fan's retreating figure, Senior Brother Luo finally revealed a look of surprise.
"This kid is really something else. It seems the Sword Pavilion stumbled upon a treasure this time by sheer luck."
When Meng Fan first came to the Sword Pavilion, he was merely a handyman disciple who had not only failed to cultivate to the Qi Refinement Realm, but didn't even have a single wisp of True Qi in his body.
And how long had it been since then?
He had broken straight through to the realm of the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement!
To be honest, it was somewhat preposterous.
"For a talent like this, isn't leaving him in the Sword Pavilion a bit of a waste of his potential?" Senior Brother Luo couldn't help the thought from popping into his head.
"No that's wrong. A talent like this in the Sword Pavilion is what truly has a boundless future!"
For ordinary people to serve as sword-guarding disciples in the Sword Pavilion was a dead end that rarely ended well.
Yet true outstanding geniuses found it even easier to soar to great heights when placed in the Sword Pavilion!
Danger was frequently accompanied by astonishing opportunities.
Only, ordinary people lacked the capability to weather the danger and reap the opportunity.
"It looks like I can find an opportunity ahead of time to take him upstairs to see Old Lin," Senior Brother Luo muttered to himself.
However, although Meng Fan had never seen Old Lin, that did not mean Old Lin had never seen Meng Fan.
Perhaps Old Lin had already been keeping an eye on this kid Meng Fan for a long time.
He himself hadn't been qualified to become Old Lin's personal disciple, but perhaps this fellow Meng Fan stood a chance!
After leaving the Sword Pavilion, Meng Fan headed straight for the Sword Comprehension Hall.
As it turned out, not a single disciple was practicing or studying swords at the Sword Comprehension Hall today.
What was going on here?
Meng Fan frowned.
Usually, the Sword Comprehension Hall was packed with people. To have not a single disciple there today was exceedingly abnormal.
A moment later, Meng Fan slapped his forehead.
He finally remembered that today was the day of the Shushan Sword Sect's grand disciple competition.
Whether they were handyman disciples, outer sect disciples, or inner sect disciples, all had to participate in the ranking matches to update their standings.
In the past, every time Meng Fan participated in the handyman disciple ranking matches, he always placed near the very bottom.
Therefore, this grand sect competition could well be described as Meng Fan's dark shadow.
Yet now that Meng Fan had become a sword-guarding disciple of the Sword Pavilion, he no longer needed to participate in such a grand competition.
"The grand sect competition actually offers a chance to observe more sword techniques; it has an even better effect than the Sword Comprehension Hall," Meng Fan muttered to himself as he left the Sword Comprehension Hall.
Since he didn't have to participate in the sect competition, he had plenty of time to watch others spar with their swords.
In the Shushan Sword Sect, ninety-nine percent of the disciples used swords as their weapons and studied sword techniques.
It was a rare occasion indeed for someone to cultivate other weapons.
Thus, if Meng Fan wanted to observe sword techniques, this grand sect competition was truly an excellent choice.
Soon, Meng Fan arrived at the Heavenly Sword Plaza of the Shushan Sword Sect.
This plaza was exceptionally vast, occupying nearly half of Mount Shushan, and could truly be called the facade of the Shushan Sword Sect.
The Heavenly Sword Plaza could accommodate tens of thousands of people at once.
Even if everyone in the Shushan Sword Sect came to the Heavenly Sword Plaza, there would still be room for them to stand.
Meng Fan had arrived rather late, and many disciples had already begun their sparring matches.
At this moment, the Heavenly Sword Plaza was divided into three areas:
The handyman disciple area, the outer sect disciple area, and the inner sect disciple area.
Although the status of handyman disciples was the lowest, the area they occupied was the largest.
There was no helping it; the number of handyman disciples exceeded the inner sect and outer sect disciples combined!
Since he was here to watch battles, Meng Fan naturally chose to watch the strongest ones.
Unobtrusively, he walked over to the area designated for inner sect disciples.
Although he was merely a cultivator at the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement, he looked rather out of place among these sect disciples.
Today was a big day, however, so naturally no one would jump out to mock Meng Fan and claim he was unworthy of lingering here.
Everyone was behaving quite properly!
"Meng Fan, why did you run over here?" Shortly after arriving in the inner sect disciple area, Meng Fan heard a familiar voice.
The little rich girl, Liu Yanping!
Meng Fan naturally held a deep impression of this wealthy benefactor who had handed him eleven Spirit Stones in one go.
"Senior Sister Liu," Meng Fan hurriedly greeted in response.
Liu Yanping approached Meng Fan and said with a somewhat curious expression, "Shouldn't you be over on the outer sect disciples' side? Oh, I remember now—you're not an outer sect disciple, you belong to the Sword Pavilion. You shouldn't need to participate in the sect competition, right?"
Meng Fan nodded and said, "Yes, Senior Sister Liu."
"Then what are you doing here? Watching everyone spar?" Liu Yanping knew of Meng Fan's hobby; he simply loved hiding in corners to watch other people practice swords.
Now with the grand sect competition underway, a "peeping tom" like Meng Fan certainly wouldn't miss it.
Meng Fan gave a wry smile. "Senior Sister Liu, you answered your own question and stole all my lines. What is left for me to say?"
"Haha!" Liu Yanping let out a hearty laugh, thoroughly uninhibited.
Noticing that Meng Fan was watching a pair of inner sect disciples spar, she shook her head and said, "Don't watch them spar, there's nothing interesting to see. Take a look at this instead."
With that, she dragged Meng Fan off in another direction, where another man and woman were sparring.
"Is there anything special about these two?" Meng Fan asked curiously.
He didn't understand why Liu Yanping had specifically dragged him over to watch these two spar.
"This woman is called Yang Xiaohua. In the last two inner sect disciple rankings, she placed right above me. I've long found her eyesore and want to knock her down a peg," Liu Yanping said with lingering indignation.
Meng Fan asked with a hint of puzzlement, "Then what's the use of dragging me over?"
Liu Yanping stated, "I see that you are quite proficient in many sword techniques. Have you ever studied the *Cloud and Mist Thirteen Swords* that she practices?"
The *Cloud and Mist Thirteen Swords*?
To be honest, Meng Fan himself didn't even know if he had studied it or not.
He had perused many sword techniques in the Sword Comprehension Hall, but he didn't know the names of those techniques.
Chapter 26: That Won't Do, You Have to Pay Extra!
Meng Fan began to observe Yang Xiaohua's sword technique.
A few seconds later, he had a good idea in his mind.
He had previously seen someone else practice this sword technique in the Sword Comprehension Hall.
Meng Fan said to Liu Yanping, "Is this the *Cloud and Mist Thirteen Swords*? I do indeed know a thing or two about it."
Know a thing or two?
Hearing these words, Liu Yanping breathed a sigh of relief.
Because Meng Fan had previously claimed to only know a thing or two about the *Azure Sea Tide-Secting Sword*, but in reality, he was extremely proficient in it.
Therefore, she knew very well that when Meng Fan said he "knew a thing or two," it was equivalent to being extremely proficient.
Liu Yanping hurriedly said to Meng Fan, "Junior Brother Meng, as long as you tell me the flaws in Yang Xiaohua's sword technique and help me defeat her, I'll give you ten Spirit Stones as a reward!"
She knew Meng Fan was interested in Spirit Stones, so she proactively offered this reward.
"That won't do!" Meng Fan shook his head.
Liu Yanping quickly said, "Don't worry, this doesn't violate the rules of the grand sect competition. You only need to give me a little guidance. This is a matter of relying on one's true ability, not cheating, so you don't need to worry about breaking the rules."
She assumed Meng Fan had misgivings, so she wanted to dispel his concerns.
And in truth, that was indeed the case; having Meng Fan guide her sword technique was a perfectly legitimate matter and had nothing to do with breaking rules.
An inner sect disciple at the 9th Layer of Qi Refinement, only a single step away from stepping into the True Martial Realm, yet she considered having a 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement disciple guide her to be entirely proper.
This Liu Yanping truly possessed a thick skin!
Meng Fan shook his head and said with a serious expression, "This isn't a question of whether it violates the rules or not."
Liu Yanping asked anxiously, "Then what's the problem?"
Meng Fan declared, "You have to pay extra!!!"
Hearing Meng Fan's words, Liu Yanping couldn't help rolling her eyes.
Can a problem that can be solved with money even be considered a problem?
This brat really looked down on her, the inner sect's number one little rich girl.
Liu Yanping said ungraciously, "As long as you can make me win against this Yang Xiaohua, I'll double it: twenty Spirit Stones!"
Meng Fan shook his head. "Thirty!"
"Are you trying to rob me?"
"This Yang Xiaohua is much more formidable than Ye Feng; she's worth this price! Besides, if she finds out later that it was me who guided you, she might bear a grudge against me. I'm taking a risk here, so thirty Spirit Stones isn't much."
Meng Fan sat on the ground and raised his price, holding forth with an entirely serious face.
Liu Yanping thought it over and felt that what Meng Fan said made a lot of sense.
Mostly because she truly had no concept of thirty Spirit Stones; to her eyes, there wasn't much difference between thirty and three.
If it were three hundred, she might feel a pang of heartache for a moment.
So she nodded and said, "Fine! As long as you can help me defeat Yang Xiaohua, I'll give you thirty Spirit Stones."
Hearing Liu Yanping's words, Meng Fan instantly perked up and watched Yang Xiaohua's sword technique with rapt attention.
Although he had seen someone else practice these *Cloud and Mist Thirteen Swords* in the Sword Comprehension Hall before, that person's sword technique was obviously inferior to Yang Xiaohua's.
Furthermore, everyone's sword technique developed their own habits and modifications, so Meng Fan had to study Yang Xiaohua's style first.
A moment later, the male disciple facing Yang Xiaohua could no longer hold his ground and was defeated.
Yang Xiaohua withdrew her sword and stepped off the sparring platform.
"Well? Yang Xiaohua's next opponent is me. Have you found the flaws in her sword technique?" Liu Yanping asked hastily.
"How much time is left before the next match starts?" Meng Fan asked.
"Less than half an incense stick of time," Liu Yanping replied.
"Time is enough. Follow me."
Meng Fan led Yang Xiaohua to an open space.
"Watch closely, look carefully, and listen well. I'll only explain it once. Remember what I say, and you should be able to defeat Yang Xiaohua."
As he spoke, Meng Fan drew the Hongqi Sword.
Liu Yanping looked at Meng Fan in surprise; the last time she saw Meng Fan, this kid didn't even have a sword, but now he already possessed a personal weapon of his own.
The Hongqi Sword heeded Meng Fan's words and tried its best to conceal the aura of a Spiritual Sword amidst the crowd, so ordinary people simply couldn't tell it was a Spiritual Sword, mistaking it merely for an ordinary sword vessel.
Meng Fan thrust out with a single sword stroke, explaining as he thrust:
"The sixth form of the *Cloud and Mist Thirteen Swords* has an obvious flaw. Because Yang Xiaohua is relatively short and petite, she magnifies this flaw many times over."
"When she executes the sixth form, you only need to deploy the second stance of the *Azure Sea Tide-Secting Sword*, swiftly flash your body to the right, and then counter with an upward lift of your sword. There is a ninety percent probability you can point your sword directly at her throat!"
"This is the method I found that is most suitable for you to win. The win rate is as high as ninety percent! As long as you don't make a mistake, you can win against her one hundred percent!"
"Your ranking is only one place lower than hers, so your strengths shouldn't be too far apart. Holding out until she executes the sixth form of the *Cloud and Mist Thirteen Swords* shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Upon hearing Meng Fan's words, Liu Yanping said with a proud expression, "Difficult? It's downright effortless. With my strength, holding out until the thirteenth form is no trouble at all. Although she was able to beat me previously, it was only a narrow victory anyway!"
"Don't talk big; empty talk makes it easy to overturn the boat. Now I'll play the role of Yang Xiaohua and execute the sixth form of the *Cloud and Mist Thirteen Swords*, and you try it out!"
To ensure he could secure those thirty Spirit Stones, Meng Fan was pulling out all the stops.
When sparring with Liu Yanping, he even deliberately squatted in a horse stance to match her height.
There was no helping it; he was far too tall, while Yang Xiaohua was too short.
To let Liu Yanping enjoy the most perfect service, he could only wrong himself.
A moment later, satisfaction appeared on Meng Fan's face.
As for Liu Yanping, she was even more satisfied than Meng Fan; her smile could no longer be contained, utterly smug.
She felt that this upcoming match with Yang Xiaohua was a sure win.
"You brat, even though your cultivation realm is rather low, your research into sword techniques is truly eye-opening!" Liu Yanping couldn't help praising Meng Fan.
Mentioning cultivation realm, she finally noticed that Meng Fan had actually reached the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement.
"Not bad at all. Two days ago I saw you were still at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement, and now you're already at the 2nd." Liu Yanping was somewhat surprised.
Meng Fan smiled and said, "This is all thanks to Senior Sister Liu. If not for the assistance of the Spirit Stones Senior Sister gave me previously, it would have been very difficult for me to break through."
Liu Yanping patted Meng Fan on the shoulder and said with a haughty air, "Well said! Hang out with your Senior Sister here and you'll eat well; I guarantee you'll reach the True Martial Realm sooner rather than later."
"Then many thanks, Senior Sister," Meng Fan said with a smile. Toward this cash cow, Meng Fan remained deeply "respectful."
With that, Liu Yanping scurried anxiously toward the plaza; her upcoming match against Yang Xiaohua was about to begin.
Meng Fan didn't watch anyone else's matches; at this moment, he naturally had to watch the match between Liu Yanping and Yang Xiaohua.
Moreover, he desperately hoped Liu Yanping would win, much like someone who had placed a bet in a gamble.
As long as Liu Yanping won this match, he would win thirty Spirit Stones!
In the end, Liu Yanping did not disappoint Meng Fan.
Utilizing the guidance method provided by Meng Fan, she successfully defeated Yang Xiaohua, and did so in a crushing fashion.
The moment Yang Xiaohua unleashed the sixth form of the *Cloud and Mist Thirteen Swords*, she was countered by Liu Yanping in the very next second.
Liu Yanping burst into loud laughter, her face overflowing with excitement and smugness.